A video apparatus such as a digital video camera conventionally has a plurality of display destinations, for example, as components of the main body, a liquid crystal display panel, an EVF (Electrical View Finder), and a line-out (e.g., an S output for transmitting a composite video output, or brightness and color difference signals independently) for output to an external display (e.g., a TV monitor). Video signals to be displayed on or output to these display destinations generally have the same resolution. The video apparatus has, e.g., a function of switching whether to or not to multiplex the same OSD on respective display destinations.
In terms of the video format environment, a higher-resolution Hi-Vision format (to be referred to as an HD format hereinafter) coexists with conventional NTSC and PAL formats (to be referred to as SD formats hereinafter). Various corresponding digital formats are defined by groups such as ITU (International Telecommunication Union) and SMPTE (Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers).
These days, consumer digital video cameras capable of recording and playback in both the SD and HD formats are available. Some digital video cameras can output a picture of the HD format to a display device capable of receiving and displaying the HD format in display, for example, in playback in the HD format, and can also down-convert the resolution of a picture from the HD format to the SD format within the apparatus and output the picture of the SD format to a display device capable of receiving and displaying the SD format (e.g., Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-125193).
Under the circumstance, when different video formats are to be displayed and output, dedicated OSD data are multiplexed on the respective video formats and displayed. Alternatively, after OSD data is multiplexed on an original picture, their resolutions are changed to display the OSD and picture. OSD data to be displayed must be prepared for each resolution, and the quality of OSD data may be degraded.